How important is music to your poetry?
My life is full of music, books, and art. I don’t have a television in my home, so I listen to music from morning until night, and I love singing. I’m drawn to singer songwriters, and I listen to people like Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Sarah Harmer, Glen Hansard, Sheila Carabine, Kathleen Edwards, Stan Rogers, Tim Baker, Amelia Curran, and Ron Hynes. The bardic tradition includes music and ballads, so it makes sense to me that I’m so drawn to those singers who are also poets. I also love listening to traditional Irish music, especially when I’m writing and reading. The Chieftains and Cherish the Ladies are always on a number of my playlists. Give me a song like “The Mary Ellen Carter” or “Cold Missouri Waters” and I’m happy as a clam. That’s the bard in me, I think, loving the way a long song tells a true story, documenting people’s lives in really beautiful ways.
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